1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the field of commercial fishing equipment and, more particularly, to the field of automatic fishhook baiting systems used for commercial fishing.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
One popular commercial fishing technique involves setting long fishing lines to which hundreds or thousands of baited hooks are attached by individual gangions or snoods. In order to maximize profits from this type of fishing, it is generally desirable to set as many baited hooks as quickly as possible, while using the minimum number of crew to do so. Obviously, it is impossible to bait by hand more than one hook every few seconds and such a manual process would pose unacceptable risk of injury. Accordingly, there exists a need for a system which can automatically bait large number of hooks rapidly with high reliability and consistent results.
One type prior art baiting system employs a fishhook "guide" which is used to control the movement or orientation of the hook. A typical guide consists of a tube having a slot running along its length. As a fishing line is drawn through the tube, the barb portion of the hook rides in the slot and is directed towards a baiting mechanism. The disadvantages of such guide systems are numerous. First, each hook must be precisely guided into position to receive a bait. Thus, if a hook is somewhat deformed or catches momentarily, the hook may not be properly oriented at the correct time and will pass through without receiving a bait.
Conventional guide systems tend to be large in size and costly to manufacture, which often renders them unusable or uneconomical for smaller fishing vessels. Moreover, such guide systems are often mounted permanently to one fishing vessel, which tends to prevent quick removal for repair or use on another vessel. Most guide systems include a number of moving parts which may require adjustment and which increase the likelihood of malfunction or failure of the baiting system.
Due to the unique requirements of each type or make of guide mechanism, many such mechanisms may be used only with particular (matched) fishing line storage or handling devices in an integrated system. As a result, it is often impossible to use a guide type baiting machine of one make in combination with a line storage device of a different make.